Financial Support for PhD Students
All students admitted to the PhD program will be awarded Teaching Assistantships and/or research assistantships, or (for a select few) full graduate fellowships.
The base nine-month stipend for incoming PhD students in 2025 is $20,600 (minus semester fees of approximately $650/semester). Admitted students may be offered additional fellowships, top ups, or awards, determined by the department. All incoming and current students will be considered for every kind of available funding, fellowship, and award based on the evidence of achievement in their application packet. The Kirkland and McKnight require additional steps by the student at the time of application; no other award requires extra steps.
Highly qualified new students in Victorian studies or studies in oral narrative folklore (including cultural studies) are eligible for either a full Kirkland scholarship and/or a Kirkland supplemental award. Owing to the generous bequest of Mary Neal Kirkland-Johns, the fellowship offers up to four years of support for students seeking a doctorate.
In keeping with the teaching and research interests of the late Professor Edwin C. Kirkland, these awards are for students whose graduate work focuses on literature of the Victorian era in Britain and/or its colonies, or studies in oral narrative folklore (which may also involve cultural studies).
The maximum award for doctoral students is $25,000 per academic year, for up to four years, with satisfactory progress. Three years include a teaching assistantship with tuition waiver for in-state tuition. The remaining year also carries an in-state tuition waiver and is without teaching or research assistantship duties. The final year includes an additional award for professional travel.
Due to restrictions, the full four-year Kirkland award is not available to international students; however, Kirkland award funds may still be offered to qualified students (including international students) as supplemental “top-up” award funds.
Note: The Department also nominates new and current students for supplemental Kirkland award money.
The McKnight Doctoral Fellowship program is also available to applicants but requires additional materials at the time of application. The McKnight Fellowship provides an annual stipend for five years, up to $5,000 in tuition each year for four years, and other benefits. See their website for additional information.
Other Departmental Fellowships
Grinter Fellowships:
The Department of English has a limited number of three-year Grinter Fellowships (usually $2,000–$4,000 per year) with which to supplement awards to outstanding doctoral candidates. You do not apply for Grinters; Graduate Admissions allocates these to entering students based on availability when you are accepted into the program.
Baskin-Rawlings Fellowships:
Incoming students working in American literature and/or creative writing are eligible for the Baskin-Rawlings Fellowship ($1,000–$4,000 for one, two, or three years, renewable subject to terms of appointment and review of satisfactory progress). You do not apply for the Rawlings; Graduate Admissions allocates these based on availability when you are accepted into the program.
Bowers Fellowships:
Incoming PhD students working in the fields of Medieval or Renaissance literatures are eligible for the Robert Bowers Fellowship (a one-time annual award of $1,000). You do not apply for the Bowers; Graduate Admissions allocates these based on availability when you are accepted into the program.